Mountaineers boys soccer is one to beat

BOLTON – With the ascension of Wachusett Regional’s boys varsity soccer to the top of a very tough Mid-Wach A League comes a role that the team admittedly has not been accustomed to in many years.

The Mountaineer boys, who battled to a 1-1 tie against host Nashoba Regional on Oct. 10, are now the team to beat, the team that others look to knock off for not just points accrued in the season, but for a significant infusion of confidence as well.

“In Mid-Wach A this year, anyone can beat anyone on any given day,” said head coach Jason Gaumond, whose team’s record stands at 8-1-2 following the day’s contest. “When you’re having a good season like we are, teams are gunning for you. They want to make a statement to say that ‘We’re just as good’. When you have a record like this team does this year, of course teams are going to want to beat you.

“I know in years past, I’ve done the same thing with my kids. It serves as extra motivation. I told our kids that they (Nashboa) are going to bring it today and they did.”

Wachusett led for most of the afternoon with the rarest of rare occurrences happening in the opening half. Defenseman Nate Scott, a solid defender who is unaccustomed to seeing his name in the scoring column, drilled one home halfway through taking advantage of the Nashoba keeper coming out too far. The ball found its way to Scott, who made quick work, scoring what would be the team’s only goal of the afternoon.

“I can’t tell you when my last goal was,” said Scott postgame both laughing and still in a state of astonishment. “Probably ‘rec’ (recreation) soccer a few years ago. I was confused. I didn’t know what to do with myself. I looked around and said to myself, Was that a goal? I knew the goalie would be there but I look up and he was right there. It was instinct.”

Nashoba would even things late in the second half but not before some dazzling saves by Mountaineer goaltender Brennan Goehl. The senior keeper who entered the matchup leading the region with a meager 0.46 goals-against-average made several acrobatic saves but one shot completely out of his control was a blast that struck the top of the crossbar and clanged out instead of into the cage.

“I said a little prayer afterward that it hit the crossbar,” admitted Goehl. “I had no chance of getting that one.

“Being good for me is having a good defense all around. My defense is great. I don’t get that many shots a game.

I’ve had a lot of good goalkeeper coaches along the way. Most of this is concentration and just knowing where to be.”

Both teams dug deep late, trying to knock home the decisive score, but each team’s defense stiffened. Asked if he changes strategies late in tie games, Gaumond remarked that he does tweak but does not make major adjustments.

“I play a 3-5-2 formation and I stick with that,” he answered. “The only thing I may do is I’ll have my ‘mids’ (midfielders) like Luke Lindholm stay back because Luke is a phenomenal defender. For a sophomore, he plays like a senior. I was telling Luke for the last ten minutes of the game to not push so much, to sit back in the hole because I didn’t want him to get caught up for a counter-attack. “

The team continues its season with four straight road games beginning Oct. 17 when they will face tough opponents including Shrewsbury and Algonquin before finishing the regular season at home on Oct. 28 against Worcester’s Doherty High.